Zap

A Zap is a single automated workflow in Zapier. It pairs a trigger — an event in one app that starts the flow — with one or more actions that run in other apps. When the trigger fires, the Zap moves and transforms data down the chain without anyone touching a keyboard.

The anatomy of a Zap

Every Zap has exactly one trigger and at least one action:

• Trigger — the starting event, such as "new payment in Stripe" or "new row in a spreadsheet."
• Action — what happens next, such as "post a message in Slack" or "create a record."
• Built-in steps — optional filters, paths, and formatter steps that decide whether and how the flow continues.

A Zap with more than one action is a multi-step Zap, letting a single trigger fan out to several downstream apps.

How Zaps run and bill

When the trigger event occurs, Zapier runs the Zap and executes each action in order. Billing is per successful action step, called a task — triggers, filters, and paths don't consume tasks, but each action that completes does. A busy month means more tasks, and on usage-based plans, a larger bill.

Zaps for payment alerts

A common Zap wires Stripe to Slack: a Stripe trigger fires, a filter narrows it to the events you care about, and a Slack action posts a message. Building that reliably means handling webhook payloads, formatting raw fields, and watching your task usage on high-volume events.

ChargeBell is a purpose-built alternative for the Stripe-to-Slack case: it sends plain-English payment alerts — with net-after-fees and MRR impact already computed — for one flat price of $24/mo, so a busy sales month doesn't inflate your bill the way per-task automation can.